Energy Conservation
by shallowness
Summary: While worrying about her future, again, Cassie receives a piece of advice. Cassie/Nick.


Title: Energy Conservation  
Author: shallowness  
Fandom: Push  
Rating: PG  
Characters/Pairing: Cassie Holmes, Nick Gant, Pinky Stein, OFC (Cassie/Nick)  
Summary: While worrying about her future, again, Cassie receives a piece of advice.  
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't profit.  
Author's Note: Written for the prompt 'Any, Any, "It takes seven fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown. Save your energy, you're going to need it in your child bearing years." (due South)' at comment_fic, because of course my mind went to Push when I read it. Of course it did. 727 words.

 **Energy Conservation: shallowness**

They're being shadowed by Pinky while they wait for Hook's call. Cassie restrains herself from flipping through her notebook again, but she can't help twisting it around in her hands and frowning. It's either playing with that or the dirty bowls and cutlery on their table that haven't been collected yet.

She and Nick should be safely off Division's radar here. After all, anyone who'd read their files wouldn't expect them to be this close to Hong Kong. They'd picked their direction at random, and hadn't baulked when it headed this way, beyond exchanging grimaces before taking the first step.

"Nobody would expect us to do this," Nick had said.

On the other hand, in this part of mainland China, Westerners stick out. Having seen Nick's money, the wait staff don't care about them, but Pinky can't protect them from the curious gaze of the old lady who has been watching them for the past ten minutes, seated on a low stool in a shadowy corner of the restaurant they're waiting in.

None of them are eating now, but it's not the kind of place where staff are going to hurry you out.

Inevitably, the woman comes up to them. She's short, wearing a shapeless dark blue tunic and pants, her hair a bristly grey. By Cassie's side, Nick sits up straighter. Cassie tries to fix a neutral expression on her face, while reminding herself that this could be nothing but idle curiosity. But they're armed. Just in case.

The woman speaks briefly in Cantonese, fast and in an impenetrable accent. Cassie looks to Nick for a translation, because the old lady was addressing her. She probably wasn't cursing Cassie, and, from the way the guys have relaxed slightly, she's no threat, but still, Cassie would like to know what she said. After a pause, Nick obliges her.

"Uh, she says it takes seven fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown. You should save your energy. You're going to need it." Nick speak gruffly, not looking at Cassie, probably because he knows she has good reasons for frowning, having been there for the visions and the drawings and the dull, miserable panic that led them here.

Before Cassie can form a response that isn't rude, or no ruder than the piece of advice was, something about how Cassie would love to have a future to expend energy in, but that's slightly in the balance, Pinky butts in.

"You left out a bit, Nick."

Cassie's head snaps toward Pinky, as she senses Nick shifting in his seat beside her.

"She said Cassie'll need her energy for when she has kids." Pinky says.

Cassie stares at the woman, noting that her eyes are switching between her and Nick. It's been a few years since Cassie made her way into Nick's apartment, and she passes for older than her age, but she wonders about this woman's life, if she only had the one child and how old she was when she did. Although Cassie is trying not to think of her mom, she can't but make the calculation that this woman is old enough to have been Cassie's mom's own mother.

Cassie smiles, and it's more bemused than sarcastic. Pinky chuckles and thanks the lady, saying something about Cassie hearing her. Cassie says nothing. She smiled, didn't she? Pinky continues to chuckle as the woman walks away, out to the street.

It's Nick who seems the most unsettled by what just happened. But then he doesn't know about all of Cassie's visions, and though there's been no baby in them, there has been plenty of the act that could lead to babies.

If Pinky weren't there, Cassie might force Nick to talk about it, because every such vision leaves her a bit more frustrated about waiting, especially as she gets lots of other visions where they die. But then if Pinky hadn't been there, she'd have been stuck with Nick's incomplete translation and nothing else. In fact, she reminds herself, if Pinky weren't there, there would definitely be a need for their guns, if they'd even made it this far. So, she says nothing as Nick goes to order some more soup, even though she knows he's not hungry.

Still, Cassie stops frowning as she continues to wait, having been reminded she's got a future to fight for.

Fin


End file.
